BUCKET LIST UPDATE: No. 678 – Listen to Mozart’s 'Requiem in D minor' without interruption

I scratched another item off my bucket list last night when I officially listened to an entire, uninterrupted recording of one of the most famous pieces of music ever written, the “Requiem Mass in D minor” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

This piece of classical music is awesome for a number of reasons. Not only is it one of the most beautiful, moving and haunting pieces of music you’ll ever listen to, there’s also a cool story behind it.

Mozart had been hired to compose this requiem, that is, a piece of funeral music, to mark the anniversary of the death of Count Franz von Walsegg’s wife, Anna. However, Mozart died on Dec. 5, 1791 while working on the requiem, leaving it unfinished. After Mozart’s death, his wife hired composer Franz Xaver Sussmayer to finish the requiem, so that she could get the money for the job out of Walsegg. Even today, experts disagree as to how much of the requiem Mozart actually wrote.

Interesting side note: Mozart and Walsegg were Masonic brothers.

Many of you have probably heard bits and pieces of Mozart’s “Requiem” and just didn't realize what you were listening to. When I hear the first portions of it, I always think of the movie, “The Big Lebowski.” If you listen closely you'll hear that portions of the requiem are being played when Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski is brought to the rich Lebowski’s mansion, where he’s informed of that the wealthy Lebowski’s wife, Bunny, has supposedly been kidnapped. The requiem is played loudly and to hilarious effect in this scene.

Many of you will also be familiar with this piece of music because of the role it played in the 1984 Academy Award-winning movie, “Amadeus,” in which rival composer Antonio Salieri comes to Mozart as an anonymous messenger and hires him to write the requiem. Before his death, Mozart becomes convinced he’s writing the requiem for his own funeral. If you've never seen this movie, I highly recommend it. It's awesome.

If you plan to try to listen to Mozart’s “Requiem,” you'll need to set aside at least an hour. Depending on the performance, it can be anywhere between 50 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes long. I listened to a high-definition recording of it on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPlhKP0nZII), and that version was 55 minutes and 15 seconds long.

The Requiem consists of 14 movements. Instruments used in the piece include basset horns, bassoons, cellos, an organ, timpani, trombones, trumpets, viola and violins. It also features a mixed choir as well as solos from soprano, contralto, tenor and bass vocalists. Be warned, requiems of Mozart’s day were always written in Latin, so you probably won’t understand a word of what’s being said. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, you’ll probably still enjoy listening to this world famous piece of classical music.

In the end, I enjoyed scratching another item off my bucket list. How many of you have ever listened to Mozart’s “Requiem” in its entirety, all in one sitting? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Why? What other pieces of music would you recommend listening to in the same way? Let us know in the comments section below.